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Bournemouth v Gillingham preview

Date published: Monday 24th August 2015 1:48

Bournemouth manager Lee Bradbury will have to re-jig his squad for the visit of Gillingham.
Bradbury will be missing attacking midfielder Wes Fogden, who is cup-tied after playing in the competition for non-league Havant & Waterlooville earlier in the campaign, while Charlie Sheringham is also ineligible after featuring for Dartford in the preliminary rounds.
On-loan defender Steve Cook has been barred from playing by parent club Brighton, while Ipswich have not given permission for full-back Jaime Peters to take part in the tie. However, centre-back Stephane Zubar is fit and could slot into the heart of defence, while forward Wes Thomas returns to the matchday squad after being cup-tied for the 6-0 midweek thrashing by Brentford in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
Midfielder Shaun Cooper resumed light running in training this week but will not be fit enough to take part and Shaun McDonald continues his recuperation from a fractured toe.
New defensive signing Simon Francis is in line for a debut after sitting on the bench at Griffin Park on Tuesday but midfielder Steven Gregory remains sidelined with a groin problem.
Bradbury is likely to call on members of the Cherries’ youth-team set-up to be among the substitutes for the fixture. Josh Carmichael and Elliot Ward have both been involved in the first team this term and could be handed a chance at the Seward Stadium this weekend.
Jo Kuffour and Frank Nouble have been refused permission by their parent clubs to play for Gillingham in the FA Cup.
The strikers, on loan from Bristol Rovers and West Ham respectively, will play no part at Dean Court to avoid being cup-tied should they be called upon by their teams later in the competition.
The decisions come as a blow to Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler, who loses two of his three top scorers so far this season and, in Kuffour, a striker in form following his hat-trick in last weekend’s 4-3 triumph over Northampton.
Elsewhere, defender Garry Richards misses out due to the hamstring injury which forced him off in the first half at Priestfield last Saturday while first-choice goalkeeper Ross Flitney is also struggling with a knee complaint.
Lewis Montrose comes back into contention having completed his three-match suspension, with the midfielder gaining valuable minutes in a midweek reserve friendly against West Ham.
He was joined by Dennis Oli and Jack Payne, who both returned from injury, as well as defender Simon King following the completion of his loan stay at Plymouth. All three could be involved against Bournemouth but young keeper Daren Hawkes is cup-tied having featured earlier in the competition for non-league Ramsgate.